Numbers
by Unicorns Breathe Fire
Summary: When you are 6 months old, you get a tattoo put on your wrist. it tells you who your soulmate is, what job you will do, and your class in society. You have between the ages of 15 and 16 to find your soulmate, and Maya's time is running out.
1. Chapter 1

**Numbers**

"Name?"

"Maya Hart"

"Number?"

"31795317862439"

"Mother and Father?"

"Katy and Kermit Hart"

"You may go through"

Maya trudged through the entrance, mouth turned down and dirty hair pulled up into a ponytail, same as every morning since she was 12. She nodded in recognition at a boy in the next line across, Brandon, from section 3. He nodded back. For the next 200 metres in front of them, huge lines of men and women stretched towards the factory that was billowing clouds of black steam into the air, where they all worked.

It was 6 o'clock sharp they began working, and it finished at 9pm in the evening. They were all making clothes for section 1. They were created by hand using the finest silks and cotton the country had to supply, and it made Maya sick. How could these people be buying these sorts of clothes when she barely made enough money to keep herself fed? It was unfair. But she had gotten used to it.

She wrinkled her nose as the passed the crematory. Even though the fire got rid of all the bodies, the smell still lingered, and the age of the Dead was ever-present in Maya's mind. 16. Only one year older than she herself. She would probably join them soon enough, as there was no way she could find her soulmate within the next seven months. And then she would be gone forever.

It wasn't like this 50 years ago. Everyone used to be able to pick the job they wanted, fall in love with whomever they wanted, and do whatever they pleased. But not anymore. Ever since ISIS had fallen to the new Russian leader, the whole world had been indebted to him and his army, and in turn, he took over everything and everybody.

The scheme that the whole world had to abide by was created by some British scientists, and was really very simple to understand, and solved the population problem by killing upwards of 12,000 people per year.

When you were born you were given a number. It was inked on your wrist before you could even speak, but your whole life would revolve around it. You would memorise them, and it would tell you how you would live.

The first number was what part of your country you lived in. Maya had 3, as she was put in the Cornwall part of England, right near the sea, although she had never been taught how to swim. These went from 1 to 86.

The second number was your job. This went from 1 to 190, and you were given it relating to your Social Standing in the country, although people that lived in 1 had a blank there, as the government felt that it wasn't necessary to make them work, as they were the most important people in the new society.

The third number was your Social Standing, and it was just from 1 to 5. Five was worst and one was the best you could hope for, although it all depended on your parents.

1 meant you were rich, basically a celebrity, and you lived in the centre of the town, with bodyguards and protective walls.

2 meant that you were upper class, but not enough to be considered famous. You would live in the nice suburbs of the town, with a high street and nice corner shops.

3 meant that you were middle class. Mostly they had houses on the not-so-nice suburbs, but were still respected by the community.

4 was working class. They lived on the new estates in the surrounding villages to the town, where fights occurred often and were rarely stopped.

And 5 meant that you lived nowhere. You had to live on the street, and barely had enough money for clothes and food.

That was where Maya was. Her Dad had left her Mum when she was little, and her Mum, Katy, didn't even notice her anymore. So when Maya turned 12 she left the house to live on the streets, and started a job, as was compulsory at that age. She fended for herself, and although her mother had been a 4, somehow the scientists had known that she would become a 5.

The fourth number was your group. There were four different groups you could be picked for, and there were only three you really wanted. The other one was just for those left over. They were based on cunning, courage, cleverness, and then just whoever didn't fit. They were called Cunning, Bravery, Brain, and Other. Creative right?

Maya had been put into Other, and she liked to think it was because she was a combination of all three, but in reality she knew that it was because she just had none of them at all.

The last number was the most important. The first half of it was your soulmate's number, and the second half was your number. It was originally created to be a helpful guide to who you would be best suited with, but after a while the population had grown so much that there was a large issue with it.

The government decreed that if you didn't find out who your soulmate was by the time you had turned 16, you would be killed. That's why they needed a crematory. To burn them alive. And Maya only had seven months left before her time was up.

Maya sighed angrily as the lady in front of her swayed slightly. Not another collapse! That would mean she would have to work overtime to make up for the missing person. Goddamn this was so pointless. As the lady started to go pale and sway more rapidly, Maya held her arms out tiredly to catch her. Within the next fifteen seconds, she felt a deadweight slump into her arms. She groaned, pulling the woman up and shouting for some help. Just another shit day at work, the same as usual. And now she could stay late, so that would just be extra great wouldn't it?

At least she didn't have to face her mother anymore when she got home. When she had still lived there, there was always some drunk guy from 5 hanging around, always talking about how he wanted to 'bang' her, and if her Mum wasn't around, he could have her as a girlfriend instead. Not likely. She would rather eat pig crap than go on a date with any of those weirdos.

But what she did have to look forward to was some filthy streets and her manky sleeping bag, which she would most likely have to steal back from some other bloke that decided he was cold. She had to steal quite often to get by, and was planning something else at that moment.

She was going to break into section 1 of the town and steal some of the money she was sure they kept lying about the place, considering how rich they all were.

But she wasn't going to just any rich snob's house. Oh no. She was going to steal from Lucas Friar's house, heartthrob and daddy's boy extraordinaire. The same one that all of the section 1 girls were infatuated with, and drooled over him in the magazines that were published by no other than Lucas Friar's daddy, the one and only Matthew Friar. They mainly featured pictures of Lucas that were taken by a professional photographer in a studio which cost him thousands of coins. He made sure that Lucas had everything he wanted, and they lived together with his Mum as a happy family ever since Lucas had been born. Just swell!

But she would ruin the peace when she stole from their precious little mansion, and maybe they would realise that other people lived in their world, not just them and their perfect rich lives. She might even break some things whilst she was there. They were in for a major wake-up-call.

 **Thanks for reading. Please review to help me improve my writing! If anyone wants to be a beta for me, I could really use the help. I hope you like the story,**

 **Love, Unicorns xxx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi! Just wanted to clear this up now, this is not going to be one of the fanfictions where they find each other within the first four chapters and then the rest of the fic is them living happily ever after. No offence, but I find those ones really boring and I tend to stop reading after the first few chapters.**

 **Disclaimer: Sorry I forgot last chapter! But honestly, would I really be writing fanfiction if I owned GMW?**

Lucas Friar

He couldn't get away with wearing these shirts. They weren't made to the right standard, there were loose threads on them, and he wasn't even sure that they were 100% cotton. His father would kill him if he wore them to his 'Community Unity' party next weekend. It would reflect badly on his whole family if he showed up wearing a shirt not made to the correct standard that was expected by the upper-upper class he was part of.

It seemed like the ungrateful brats in 3,4 and 5 hadn't even been bothered to create his clothes according to the guidelines his father had sent over. They weren't acceptable, and even though everyone was provided with food, shelter and money – all from his family's generosity – they didn't want to help him get ahead with his life, in the same way he didn't particularly like any of them.

He would have to tell his father about it, so next time he got a new wardrobe the quality would not have to be compromised.

Lucas wondered into his apartment complex, sighing slightly as he saw a sack labelled 'fan mail' resting against his sofa. Just another six hours of his life he would have to waste on that then, as his father always got pissed when he disappointed the 'less fortunate' girls that lived in 2 and 3. Obviously the 4 and 5's didn't have time to waste reading all the magazines with him in them as they were too busy doing work.

Another colour stood out in his otherwise white apartment. A little pink notelet, in the shape of a heart. "Uugh" he groaned angrily. Another note from Riley, his distant cousin twice removed, who desperately wanted him to fall in love with her, as she was in 2, and had to find her soulmate, but if she found a boy from 1 then she wouldn't have to, as they were superior to everyone and everything.

The only people truly exempt from that rule were the 1's, as they didn't have to find a soulmate. The scientists often found a way to match up a 1 and a 5, so that the 5 would be killed when the 1 didn't want to find their soulmate. And that's what Lucas planned to do with his soulmate. The 5's were all worthless and good-for-nothing, and they were a waste of space. The less of them that were around, the safer it was for everyone else in a normal society.

Riley could also go. She was so clingy, and it annoyed him so much. Whenever her and her family came over to visit, it was all like "oh Lucas, if any of the 5's came here, would you protect me?" and "if we watched a scary movie, would you keep me safe?" it made him feel physically sick. She was just too sickly sweet, and it was disgusting in a way he couldn't describe properly. It was like she was just incredibly dependent on him and his wealth, and at time not a real person, just too happy and too ditzy to be considered normal.

Lucas picked up the heart shaped note from the kitchen desktop and flipped it open. The inside was covered in little doodles and L+R in a circle, with the word 'Forever' underneath. In the middle it said 'Lucas, be my date to the Community Unity party this weekend! All my love, Ri-Ri xx (P.S Say yes) '

Lucas frowned, his eyebrows knitting together in annoyance. He had to go with her now she'd asked. There was no way around that, his father would kill him if he didn't. He pulled out his phone from his pocket, selecting Riley as the contact. What could he say? It would have to be something relatively happy, but not so much she thought he was being sarcastic with her. There was actually nothing he particularly wanted to say to her besides 'shove off', but somehow he didn't think his parents would approve.

He growled in frustration, going back and selecting Farkle instead. He could help with finding a way to reply to the note. Farkle was practically a genius, except when it came to girls. But he could probably figure out some sort of a formula to help Lucas communicate with Riley.

'Farkle, I need help, Riley sent me another note'

'Send a picture'

'Lucas Friar sent a photo to Farkle Minkus at 17:34'

'Oooooh, poor you Lucas'

'Thanks. Now how can I reply?'

'We both know I have no history whatsoever in talking to girls, let alone Riley'

'Just try'

'Fine, it probably won't be good though'

'…'

'Hurry up Farkle'

'I'm thinking! Have some patience already!'

'…'

'Ok, I have come up with two options. One: I would love to go with you Riley, see you there, or Two: Can't wait to see you at the party beautiful'

'That's the best you've got?'

'I said they wouldn't be good'

'Fine, thanks anyway. Bye'

'Bye'

Lucas rolled his eyes. Fat lot of use that was. He selected Riley from the contacts menu again, and typed up 'See you at the party, beautiful'. He pressed the send button, and slumped back on the sofa, thinking about how difficult his life was. The lucky people in 2,3,4 and 5 didn't have to worry about anything except doing their jobs, but he had so many more complicated issues to figure out with his life.

They probably had better lives than him anyhow. He knew that everyone in all the sections got help and support if they needed it, but some of the still thought that it was necessary to steal and fight with others in their community, just for the sake of it, and to pretend that they weren't cared for just as well as he himself was. He was actually quite surprised that none of them had come to steal from their houses, as they were the richest after all. But even if they did, there was no way that they would get through and into their houses, since they had to get past the wall first.

Thanks for reading! Sorry but Riley is a bit of a bitch in my opinion. Please review if you have any other opinions on the topic and again, a beta reader would be really welcome. I hate it when people say they will update if they get x amount of reviews, so I won't do that, but it would be nice to see what people think of the story and if they have any ideas. Thanks to the people that have favorited my story as well! The story will be updated quite regularly, but sometimes I won't be able to write up anything because of coursework! Lots of love,

Unicorns xxx


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